Top 25 Korean Films - No. 16

The Chaser (Dir. Na Hong-jin, 2008)

Korea’s great at thrillers but it’s never better than when it plays around with the rules, and few films have done so as successfully, and gleefully, as Na Hong-jin’s razor-tight The Chaser. Upending every genre convention in the book as it slides between horror and investigative thriller, the film plays like a modern, dark update on film noir, swimming with ambiguous characters and shady motives.

As explosive a debut as the country has ever seen, The Chaser made Na an instant international name. Far be it from being a one man show however, the film wouldn’t boast its gritty atmosphere without the gruff, barreling efficiency of Kim Yun-seok, the chillingly amoral Ha Jung-woo and the gravely grit of Lee Moo-gae’s shadowy back alley cinematography. Endlessly surprising as it turns all of our preconceived expectations to rubble, with The Chaser, Na shows us that you can still put a new spin on an old story.

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